DEfnitivley DEsi

Food of the Indian Subcontinent in the heart of Texas

By Krishna Palaniswamy

India is a country of culture and color, boasting its incredible diversity in every field, from language to food. Our identities are directly connected by the food that sustains us; connecting us to our roots and the places we come from. With the culture in Austin becoming more diverse over the years, Indian culture has become a part of the culture of Austin, mostly seen in the culinary scene, with authentic Indian restaurants sharing a bit of Indian culture. With restaurants adapting to the culture in Austin to cater to a wider range of people, taking more modern approaches, others decide to stay true to the authentic recipes. Authenticity of ingredients, source, and recipe all come into consideration in the culinary scene. If outsourced spices don’t come from India can the dish truly be called authentic? Well according to the owner of Bombay express Dev says he tries his best to keep dishes made in his restaurant authentic, but a restaurant can never truly be authentic, it can try its best to get close to authenticity. With obtaining ingredients from an authentic source being near impossible, restaurants need to compromise and make do with what can be sourced locally, often making small changes to the recipe in order to compensate. Dev states that each person, family, or even city will all have their own claims of authenticity of the same dish, just because a neighboring city in India has a different interpretation of a dish, it doesn’t make either of the dishes any less authentic. Putting the same perspective in the field of culinary, removing, adding or excluding certain ingredients does not make the restaurant less authentic, as Dev says, “Even if we can’t make it fully authentic, we try our best to get it as close to authentic, so that if someone from India were to have it they could call it Authentic.” Co-owner at Zest also agrees on this view of authenticity, as he makes sure to make his recipes as authentic to North Indian cuisine as possible, but has to source his ingredients from less authentic retailers like H.E.B

With Austin being a very culturally diverse city, Indian restaurants also need to make sure that their experience also caters to multiple cultures. This is why Zest Indian Kitchen and bar, decided to make the atmosphere of their restaurant a more modern eating Experience. The owner of Zest said that making sure everyone can enjoy the eating experience is one of the main things that he wanted to prioritize when opening up his restaurant. things like Biriyani, and curry come to mind. But Indian cuisine. To a certain extent this is true, but as Dev said before; “No two cities in India will have the same recipe for the exact same dish.” Usually when splitting the two cuisines, one can divide it into two, South and North Indian cuisine, while dishes still differ in between these two cuisines. With there being a lot of Indians in Austin in the Austin area, many Indian restaurants have been bringing both South and Indian food to Austin’s culinary scene. combination of these two factors, I also love how good the customer service is.”

Zest means flavors, aroma, and quality, all traits of Zest Indian Kitchen and Bar. When asked what the meaning of Zest meant to him, he said that it” Represents the deep flavor, and culture of Indian cuisine”, exactly what he wants people to think about when they come to his restaurant for the first time, or even if they’re experiencing indian cuisine for the first time.

When most Americans think of Indian food,

The food served at Zest Indian Kitchen, is purely authentic North Indian cuisine. Ranging from the popular veg Samosa, which Mathew White express that, “The way that they fry the the Samosa is so good, it’s crunchy on the Outside, yet so hot and soft in the Inside, a wonderful

Bombaby express is an entirely vegetarian Indian restaurant, Bombay being a city in southern asia. Owner of Bombay express expresses how they strive to make food as close to authentic as possible, but also notes that, “ when you’re eating 1000 miles from the destination, there is bound to be some sort of fusion.” And given the different demographics of Austin, as a restaurant you can’t exactly match the species and styles of the cuisine in India, without excluding a large percent of the consumer. But just because exceptions are made, the basic flavor of a dish will always be maintained, “Sambar isn’t going to taste like lemonade, it will still taste like sambhar”, but you also can’t guarantee that it will taste exactly like sambar made in Hydrabath. Dev also mentions how being authentic doesn’t necessarily mean that it would taste the best way, “I’ve had a customer say that the sambar that they had hear is better than that of what I would get in India”, despite the fact that it is less authentic than what the customer had in India, it doesn’t sacrifice any taste, but can even taste better.

When asked about the name, “Bombay Express”, Dev states that by using that name Bombay, “you give the feeling that you are Universal.” With Mumbai being a very diverse city, will ethnicities all over the globe come for economic opportunity, the name. We wanted to give the feeling that our restaurant is universal, catering to multiple different backgrounds, but in and out of India. Bombay express also serves street food, a very popular one both here and in India is Chaat.

Chaat, as Dev notes, is not a very nutritional food, you wouldn’t have for lunch, breakfast or dinner, it’s kind of like potato chips. This is the best way to describe Chaat, in Hindi means to lick or taste, a delectable savory snake usually sold by street vendors in North India, but also in more southern cities such as Bombay. Being more a family of different snacks, Chaat is a very diverse term, either being the broken up bits of samosa (another popular street vendor able to expand far beyond the mountains, deserts, and vast oceans to call Austin its home away from home. but despite food), usually just being dryer snacks served with spicy condiments. The array of flavors that represent India and its people artfully creates a painting of stories and cultures. Indian cuisine is geographical, cultural, and linguistic boundaries, Indian food from Kashmir to Kanyakumari maintains its unique aromas that solidify its identity as definitively desi.